Search form

You are here

RASC eNews

Located directly below the constellation Orion is Lepus the Hare. Its brighter stars shine between magnitudes 2.5 and 3.7. Lepus takes up only 290 square degrees of sky ranking it 51st in overall area. The brightest star of the asterism is named Arneb, an F class supergiant star located 2,200 light years away. The massive star measures 75 solar masses and 36,000 times brighter than our Sun. If it took the place of our Sun, Arneb would extend to about the orbit of Mercury.

2018 is a banner year for The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC), as it marks the 150th year since the Society's inception. That is reason enough for Canada's leading association of amateur and professional astronomers to celebrate the past and future course of astronomy in this country.

Most of the constellations we see can be located from moderate light polluted skies. If you are new to astronomy, this is a good way to study the constellations which are highlighted for the most part by bright stars. Once you move to the dark countryside on a moonless night, standing under two thousand stars can be overwhelming.

The great bear commonly known as the Big Dipper is a circumpolar constellation that never sets from Canadian locations. Its familiar four stars of the bowl and three stars of its handle are bright enough to be recognized at first glance. At this time of year, the Big Dipper is directly overhead and well placed to observe its celestial treasures.

A short summary follows:
Each year the Term of three Directors of the Board ends, and this year Randy Boddam, Charles Ennis, and Colin Haig see their three-year terms come to an end. All three Directors are eligible to stand for re-election, and both Charles Ennis and Colin Haig have elected to do so.